Plein air pastel landscape painting of a sunlit lawn and trees.
Pastel painting 6.25 inches x 6.25 inches $100
This is a small pastel painting that I did this summer sitting in my driveway and looking out toward my neighbor’s house. The sunlit patches of lawn created an interesting pattern that culminated with the bright light around the porch next door. Theirs a lot of texture showing through the pastels from the rust colored primer I applied on a small piece of illustration board. I like to work on small pieces every now and then to break up the pressure of the larger ones!
Plein air pastel painting of palm trees and shadows on a stucco garage.
Pastel painting 6.5 inches x 9 inches
Here’s another view of the area around our condo in Naples. Yes, it is a lowly garage. But what attracted me were the shapes that the shadows and the plants made against the stucco wall. I really like doing pastel paintings of architecture. with this subject matter, I tend to work a little more abstractly, seeing blocks of color and strong shapes.
Plein air pastel landscape of silhouetted trees along a river bank.
Pastel painting 8.5 inches x 13.5 inches
This is one of my favorite pastel landscapes that I’ve done recently. I painted it one morning down in Florida but it is really a universal-type scene and could have been done almost anywhere in the United States.
I’m a firm believer in getting out early to work on plein air paintings. Their is a special light in the morning that evaporates very quickly. At 8 or 9 am the scene before you is brilliant and dramatic. At 11, it becomes flat and boring. I often take a couple hour break during midday and start again on another scene after 3 pm. I REALLY love afternoon light too. It has a golden hue that gives everything it touches a rosy hue. In my work, light and shadow is everything.
Plein air pastel landscape painting of two towers against a sunrise.
Pastel painting 12 inches x 9 inches
Early one morning I packed up and headed out to the Everglades. But on the way, I was struck by the sun rising behind two beautiful towers at a high-end resort. I turned the car right around, parked the car down the hill and set up to paint a pastel landscape of the view. Even though the buildings were framed by palm trees, the scene reminded me of Italy. I worked for about an hour in the early morning sun. Suddenly, I noticed a uniformed man getting out of a truck and heading toward me. He was really nice, but there was no doubt about it. He was throwing me off the property. He saw my pastel painting. and knew I wasn’t a threat, but it was his job to keep riff raff off the resort. I felt like I had passed a plein air milestone. ;o)
Another milestone: I was recently notified that I was awarded one of the 4 scholarships that the International Association of Pastel Societies gives to artists biannually. My scholarship will be to work with internationally known pastel artist Terry Ford. I love her work and am looking forward to attending one of her wonderful workshops!
Plein air pastel painting of palms and shadows against a wall.
Pastel painting 5.5 inches x 6.5 inches
John’s back from Florida now too, YEA!! And so are all of my pastel paintings. He drove down and back and carted all of my art supplies with him. I’ve been photographing all of my artwork and adjusting the computer files. There has to be at least 30 or 40 paintings. I’ll be posting some over the coming weeks.
This was a quick study out from our condo lanai. I really liked the shapes and colors of the palms and the shadows they cast against the stucco walls. Whenever I had a spare moment, I was painting, either in pastel or watercolor. The colors down there are amazing!
It’s a friggin blizzard outside so I thought I’d do a little summer pastel paintings to warm me up! Nothing like bright garden sunlight and shadows to chase away the winter blues…
Watercolor still life painting of a single orange and shadow.
Watercolor painting 9 inches x 6 inches
A very simple piece today. This week I have been spending my studio time working on a set of large paintings of Umbria and haven’t done many small pieces.
This is another still life painting from my work shop in Italy, painted on Waterford cold press paper (my favorite!). Below is a painting of oranges that I posted a while ago, done at the same time, of the same oranges, but on Yupo plastic paper. You can see that the paper has A LOT of affect on the final outcome of painting. If you want to control the outcome, it s very important to have a vision before you start painting and choose your paper accordingly. If you don’t need total control, experiment with different substrates!
Watercolor landscape painting of an old shed down a monastery lane in Italy.
Watercolor painting 7 x 10 inches SOLD
Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.
I’m back from 2 1/2 wonderful weeks of painting Italian watercolors in Umbria and Rome. I had the most fabulous time ever at La Romita, a small art school based at a 15c monastery just outside of Terni. The accommodations were quaint, clean and comfortable and every meal was new and delicious. The grounds were so beautiful, I could have painted there each day. But every morning at 8, the bus would pick us up and take us to a new hill town to explore. Assisi, Perugia, Todi, Orvieto, each one amazing in their own unique way. We had two wonderful instructors who encouraged us and helped us grow in new ways. If you every want an all-inclusive art experience in Italy, I highly recommend La Romita!!
I am saving most of the watercolor paintings I created on this trip for a solo show I will be having in the spring. But I sold one La Romita painting to my new friend Liz and have posted it today. This is the path behind the chapel that leads to the olive orchard. The sparkling light and flowers near the shed caught my fancy!
Plein air watercolor painting of sunlit pillars on a fenced walkway
Watercolor painting 9.5 inches x 6.25 inches $80
Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.
I’m all about light and shadow. Its always what attracts me to a plein air subject, even when I’m just hangin out at the pool. I did this watercolor painting of a fenced walkway specifically because I liked the way the sunlight and shadows played on the pillars. I also love architectural and sculptural elements so the little pineapples on the tops of the pillars were and added bonus!
Plein air pastel landscape painting of palm trees and their shadows along a resort walk in Florida.
Pastel painting 8 inches x 12 inches $300
Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.
As a plein air pastel artist, I am always looking for 3 crucial elements when searching out a scene to paint: A dynamic composition, a strong sense of light and shadow, and of course, beautiful color. Sometimes I may find a majestic, monumental view that contains all of those elements. Other times it may be a simple, every day scene such as this shadowed walkway that caught my eye down in Naples. For this pastel landscape, I painted on white art spectrum paper that I had underpainted in various rust and rose tones. You can see the color peeking through all over the painting. I like to do this technique to unify and add some sizzle to the color.
Watercolor painting of a tree-lined dirt road in the summer sun
Watercolor painting 5.5 inches x 7.5 inches $100
Please contact me if you are interested in similar artwork.
Last summer when I was busy painting old farmsteads, I came upon this quiet country lane, shadowed by trees. I sat on the side of the road with Roxy and made a watercolor sketch. It was beautiful, just like it must have been in the 1800s and not a car came by to spoil my view. I’m missing painting outdoor landscapes and can’t wait til spring comes and I can get back at it!
